My Daddy

Two days before I was due, my dad celebrated his 60th birthday. I thought it would be fun to have the baby on his birthday but apparently Weston didn’t want to steal his thunder. Or maybe he was just saving all that thunder for when he came out…because dude…the thunder from down under is un.be.leeeevable.

My grandparents were in town for the occasion…down from Pittsburgh…and looking just as good as always. I love that my Pappap is wearing a shirt that has my dad’s company’s logo on it. He is so supportive of us all. He always does little things to make everyone feel special and loved. One time I asked my siblings who they thought was Pappap’s favorite and we all said ourselves. That says a lot.

So my mom planned a big 60th birthday party with friends and my dad’s golfing buddies. For some reason or another, I was the one that was supposed to get my dad to show up at the country club and to stall him till 7pm. My mother can’t lie. She just can’t. It would be like asking her to speak with an accent. One time she tried to do a ‘reggae’ accent and she sounded like Fat Albert. We thought she was gonna pull out the bagpipe accordian. (Any Fat Albert fans in the house?!)

Anyhoo…since apparently I was the official ‘package-deliverer’, I called my dad and pitched him an idea that I had. A photoshoot. One with him and Will…doing one of their favorite things….playing golf.

Remember how I told y’all that I am going through an around-the-editing-world-trip? And that each image feels different and looks different because of how I edited it? Yeah. That hasn’t ended. I’m still trippin.

I decided that this one would count as Will’s November photoshoot.

I love this one. like a lot. My dad is always cheering us on. He was a math teacher for 16 years and coached everything from basketball to football to golf…so seeing him raise his hands in celebration of my little guy brings tears to my eyes. I raise my hands for you Daddy! Full circle baby.

Yes, those are marshmellows…not golf balls they are toasting. Don’t judge me. Will needed a blood sugar boost and mommy needed a happy toddler at the country club.

The most ridiculous part of the entire thing was the fact that the sun was down way before 7pm. So I had to stall them…and keep pretending that I was certain I could shoot in the dark.

I had them sit. walk. walk back. do it again. point at stuff. drink a special “Pop” soda pop.

Apparently sugar cane root beer is not very good. Thanks a lot World Market.

Thankfully, 7pm came and I convinced him Dad that we needed to go pick up Jeremy at the reception room. My dad was so confused but I think he generally is very confused by me and my wackiness so it worked out this time.

Overall it was a really fun night. My mom had it catered and then of course she brought food…like 7 key lime pies….and a four tiered cupcake stand. Have I mentioned that she’s Italian and can not for the life of her cook for less than eighteen times what’s needed?

My dad with his golfing buddies…sorry for the fuzzy photo Dad….I was on a sugar high…let’s blame Mom’s mountain of snowball cookies…

Also, I was in charge of making the slideshow video thing of my Dad. It’s nothing fancy…but Mummum & Pappap – this is for you! I thought you would like to see it since you couldn’t be there for the party. Everyone else….if you choose to sit through the almost ten minutes of someone-elses-Dad pics, please ignore any evidence of my awkward tween years. or ugly kid years. or the length of any shorts in the video…it was the 80’s and my dad rocked daisy dukes like Jessica Simpson. I think he gets extra man-points in heaven for that.

To my Daddy – I love you. I love you for a million and a half reasons. And I will take care of you when mom dies in the kitchen from a coronary due to the stress of cooking too many side dishes simultaneously. And I won’t even remind you that I have photographic evidence of your best George Costanza pose in the sand. But seriously…Daddy…I love you so so much. you taught me what to look for in a man. you showed me how to really love my spouse and how to lay down my pride for someone else. you taught me how to really say I love you and I’m sorry and I’m scared. You taught me to work hard, ask for help, go all out and trust God. And because of you, I still have great follow through on my jump shot. You are the best. Happy 60th.

Not that you don’t do lots of sweet things (I’m sure), but this has to be one of the sweetest things you’ve ever done. I don’t even know your dad and I’m in tears after watching that video. Your family seems so full of love and joy, and I know that must warm your dad’s heart so much. Good job being an awesome daughter!

I LOVE the photos. I have three daughters and I love watching my dad with them. He is a great, great man. Hope you and your family are getting lots of rest and remembering to enjoy all the craziness a new member of the family brings.

this was a great post. your posts are so charismatic and charming. they are thoughtful and thought provoking. they are joyous and sad. they are sweet and sassy. every time I read your posts, I laugh or cry. Or like this one- I did both. ; )

great dads are ALWAYS worth a shout out.

so basically, you rock. thanks for posting- even when your hands are full, you’re tired, and sleep deprived.

Happy 60th to Katie’s Daddy! You seem like an incredible man, father, grandfather, husband and friend.

I originally wrote more than that, but it kicked back all wonky. I am simply sentimental and I love seeing the progression of time. While some people might dream of being a parent, I dream of hopefully someday becoming a Memere. The day my grandchild is placed into my arms it the day I weep uncontrollably while my kids tell me to pull it together.

Happy belated birthday, Katie’s dad! My dad celebrates 66 next month and hasn’t slowed down a bit. If anything, he’s the healthiest and happiest he’s ever been. With all the medical advances and all that we know now about taking care of ourselves, 60 really is the new, what, 40? 30? At this rate, I might as well wish you 60 more awesome years!

We have very similar pictures in our albums. My dad had quite the ‘fro. Think Art Garfunkel at his ‘froiest. And I remember trying on a pair of my dad’s old short shorts when I was in high school. They were so short, I didn’t even feel comfortable wearing them. (How was that ever normal?!) P.S. Will looks so much like your dad when he was young!

That last paragrpah is just about the best tribute a Dad could ask for. If one of my kids writes me something even half as nice as that some day, I will be thrilled. PS – can you rent your Dad out to my daughter for awhile? I’m kinda worried about that “what to look for in a spouse” thing….. 🙂

Cute pics! Um… the massive destruction downstairs is horrifying and something people so rarely talk about! There are classes/info about pregnancy and delivery, but nothing about the aftermath. I swear it gets worse each time too – ALMOST makes a C-section look good just so you could keep it all ok! I can’t even imagine what you’re dealing with after a baby that big!

what a sweet post!! I can’t believe how much you look like your Dad!! Can see some of him in Will too 🙂
ps. that picture of him on the beach in his sport illustrated swim edition pose is a.ma.zing. HAHAHAHAH!!

Shut up! What a sweet post for your Dad! Your pictures of him and Will are beyond precious! Although you were taking those mainly to stall him, those will be a great treasure for him and you for years to come. While watching the slideshow you made for him, I was either laughing or tearing up–all while rocking out to The Eagles and Journey!! You did a great job!
PS: Your parents are the cutest!

I don’t know you, I don’t know your dad but I watched that video (at work, shh!) and had tears in my eyes! You are so lucky to have such a wonderful relationship, and I can tell your dad loves his kids and grandkids! Happy 60th to him!

Katie this is so sweet! Our little girl was due on my Daddy’s birthday. I had to be induced the day before and my mom informed me that as the day progressed, my dad was telling everyone that called the check on me he was holding out for 12:01 am. Our little miracle was both on my daddy’s birthday and I don’t think he ever got a present he liked nearly a much as his first grandchild 🙂 Happy Birthday to yr Daddy!

What a sweet tribute to your dad! I’m all hormonal and pregnant with our first little guy and have thoughts like “One day we’ll be the great grandparents watching our children be celebrated by their children.” If you can follow that AND not get weepy thinking about it, you might be out of the pregnancy woods. Also, I had the root beer recently and was amazed at how bad it was. Felt like I’d been tricked.

Katie this is so sweet! Our little girl was born on my Daddy’s birthday. I had to be induced the day before and apparently as the day progressed, he kept telling people that were calling to check on my that he was holding out for 12:01 am. Reagan made her debut at 2:43 am and I’m pretty sure she is his favorite birthday present ever!

Hi Kate! I am new to the blogesphere and found YHL and fell in love and from there I found you guys! I absolutely adore your honest writing and look forward to your posts. I had such a vivid dream last night of babysitting your two boys that I woke up feeling like I had just talked to you. Weird? Perhaps! Haha, but it was too funny, I had to share 🙂 I hope your post partum recovery goes by quickly! 🙂

What a lovely tribute and such adorable pictures. I love my father and I miss my grandpa each and every day and cherish all my pictures with him. Your son will no doubt feel the same way one day about these pictures.

This video literally brought tears to my eyes! I honestly love when you post about your family, because all I see is unconditional love and happiness. Such a beautiful family, happy birthday to your dad! (I see so much of him in you!)

Oh my gosh…what a sweet & completely hysterical post. I snorted my way through it. And then teared up. I wish I had that kind of relationship with my dad. Very happy for you though! (still snickering about your mom dying in the kitchen…).

Great post! Great memories! I can really see now who you get your great personality from Katie! Your dad seems like a great guy. That first picture of your Dad as a young boy in the video looks just like Will!

What a beautiful tribute to your dad. It brought tears to my eyes! 🙂 You are so blessed. I’m praying for you to have a quick recovery–congratulations on the new addition to your family. He is gorgeous!

Decoy photoshoot or not – these are wonderful, wonderful pictures! I lost my beloved grandfather this year, and looking at these pictures of your Dad and your little man brought tears to my eyes.
What a treasure.

Katie, you look just like your father when he was younger! It’s crazy! And Will looks just like him too. So sweet. Congratulations on your newest addition. Having a VBAC & pushing out a 10 lb baby…you’re my hero 🙂 Hope you’re feeling we’ll & adjusting to a new family of four 🙂

I just want to give your Dad a big hug after seeing that video and reading this post!! The second or third pic in the video reminds me of Will. They look so much alike. Your family is the cutest! Happy Birthday Mr. Hughes. God blessed you all with a beautiful and loving family. God Bless Katie.

Happy birthday to your dad! Loved the slideshow, he looks like a great guy. Doesn’t Will have his eyes? I loved the early pictures – he just radiates love for his children. And your mom is freaking adorable!

Katie,
Those pictures of your dad and Will are beautiful!! You’ll have to frame some of them! What a precious memory. It was truly a blessing in disguise that you used that to surprise him for his party. Also, the video was very special. What a blessing to have such a loving family and how it has grown with the little ones.

On another note, I think the last post you had before you went into the hospital was on painting your outside lights by your door. I had responded to that post and told you that I had painted mine also and needed to do the ones by the driveway. Your post inspired me to go ahead and get it done and actually, I painted them the day you went into the hospital to have Weston! It was a good day!!

Gosh thank you for making me cry! The love in your family kills me every time you do this kind of post. Happy Birthday to your Dad! On a side note…where are all the ugly people in your family? Do all of you have to be so good looking? Hahaha

I didn’t have a dad growing up, that wasn’t the story that god gave me but this post gave me a deep joy for the good dads out there and a deep gladness that this is your story. Not that we are friends or anything of the sort …. but I feel a contented gladness that comes from when good happens to friends and people you care about.

Beautiful post. Beautiful pics. Will’s outfit: beyond adorable. Families are priceless. My parents are gone and I miss them dearly. My five siblings and I all live in different states. Thank God our parents instilled in us a closeness and love for each other, no matter the distance.

Such sweet pictures and a great celebration! My husband and I found out today we are having a little boy and your pictures made me super excited. We are both golf lovers but don’t get to play enough but this definitely has me wanting to hit the courses!

Beautiful…simply beautiful~the whole thing, from the sweet pictures of your dad and Will to the birthday video. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m 8 weeks pregnant, or just because, but I was weeping. My heart was in my throat. Seriously, Katie, you and your daddy have something that is so precious, and so rare. I was one of those little girls-turned young women who wished I had had a dad in my life who had loved me, adored me, taught me about the goodness of God, and had shown me what to look for in a man. I believe that little girls need this more than anything. I am now blessed to have healthy, loving relationships with both of my dads, but your video is proof that it can exist from day one. Thank you for being you. Thank you for sharing things like this. Yes, you’re incredibly talented and super-funny! But, I have to admit that I find myself spending so much time on these kinds of posts…reading and re-reading. Have a beautiful day!

OMG I absolutely love the pics from your photo shoot! Everytime I see adorable pics of your family, I get excited all over again about the baby boy who will be joining our family this March. Also, the song you chose for the slideshow is one of my all-time favorites. Excellent work 🙂

What a sweet tribute to your dad! And those golfing photos–lovely.
Totally random, but I can’t believe you found Pop Shoppe soda! (sorry it sucked). My dad used to work for Pop Shoppe when I was a kid, and we always had a ton of it at home. Just this past weekend I happened across a vendor selling flowers in Pop Shoppe bottles at our local city market! I pretty much flipped out on the spot. I haven’t seen those bottles in ages, and I sure didn’t know they were still making the stuff! Of course I now have the bottle perched in my windowsill with a hydrangea in it…reminds me of dad.

I have to say you or your sis didn’t age at all and you look just like your Dad.
Thanks for sharing. Makes me miss my Dad, who lives abroad (or do I live abroad because I moved away?) so thanks for sharing.

In any event…Congrats on Cute Weston. Hope the healing and adjusting to a family of 4 works wonderfully even with little sleep.

oh me, oh my!!! i always, always love your photoshoots, but this one really takes the cake! best ever! i canNOT get over will’s pant/sock situation (gah, PRECIOUS!) and knowing how special your dad is to you (like mine to me) and your sweet boy is to you (like mine is to me) makes me tear up with joy and thankfulness. God is good!

Your slide show made me cry. I watched it while sitting here nursing my baby girl and seeing the pics of your dad with his babies … And thinking about how I’ll be 60 some day too and my baby girl will be all grown up like you (and like me)… Oh gosh I’m all teary all over again. Family love is so special and life goes by so fast… Thanks for sharing it all with us.

I love your photoshoot, great connections and styling! If you’re in an editing experimenting stage right now, have you thought about trying kelvin white balance? Obviously not an editing process, but it can make your post-processing a lot easier, and I LOVE what it does for colors and skin tones. So much easier and faster than custom white balance too. Just google for more info (I learned all about it on the clickin moms forum). Congratulations on your first few weeks as a mother of two!! I have a 21 month and 4 month old… it’s a minor miracle that I even had time to type this comment lol, I’m so impressed that you can blog as much as you do!

I’ve tried it but I always seem to switch back to auto WB…probably because I’m shooting a rambuctious toddler and would rather engage him and worry about proper composition, exposure and focus….I would rather use Kelvin but sometimes it’s just outta the question…I’m sure you understand 😉
xo – kb

Very nicely put together….Please share—-How did you get the video in this resolution? When i try to do it I typically have to compress the resolution to send pics in a video form to my parents back home.
Also just an observation….Your sis was pretty younger but now you look so…so…pretty or prettier! 🙂

It’s just in standard resolution…in the Windows Movie Maker, it does give you conversion options but doing the high definition takes too long so I always choose standard.
Hope this helps a little!
xo – kb

Katie,
I loved this. I haven’t watched the video yet because I’m at work and the picture of your dad with his golf buddies made me cry. My father was an avid golfer and had so many buddies. He passed away about a year and half ago and this brought back SO many memories. Good ones, but still… Keep treasuring your Dad. Thanks for sharing this.

I am entirely blaming this on the fact that I am 7 months pregnant and irrationally emotional–your tribute to your Daddy made me cry! How precious! Yes, I am a weirdo that sat through an 8 minute tribute of pictures of someone else’s dad, but it was worth it. It reminded me of my Dad! Aside from the fact that he’s a 46 year old black guy with only 2 kids. lol. Seeing the pictures of your Dad with his grandchildren made my eyes water up. Such beautiful love, and so inspiring to see how close your family is. Thanks so much for sharing!

Katie,
So many things.
#1- this is beautiful…almost tears-in-my-eyes-at-work- beautiful. You and your dad clearly have an uber-special relationship and the tribute was awesome!
#2- the golf shoot?! aahhhhhhh so cute.
#3- Will with no sideburns. So cute. Maybe Weston will repeat? 🙂
#4- Your glasses. Amazing. I feel your pain and feel as though we are all some secret sisterhood of frames that were too big for our faces.
#5- UNBELIEVABLE how much you look like your dad AND your mom. Also- so cool that Will resembles your family, too. I often think he resembles Jeremy from your pictures. Looking at this family history, if you will, was really sweet because it showed all of you guys at kids and now us readers see where your kids get it from, too. 🙂
#6- HOW IS YOUR MOM SO BEAUTIFUL IN ALL TIME PERIODS?! I seriously can’t handle how gorgeous she has stayed FOREVER. I hope that I age as gracefully as she has because she is a stunner!

So many times I think Will looks like Jeremy- but these pictures of your dad show otherwise!! So many of his expressions come from him! Such a sweet photoshoot and video! and…those were some SERIOUS daisy dukes!! 😉

I love the black and white pic of Will putting! I would hang that on my wall (not in a creepy way, but in a cute kid art kind of way). Watching the video it’s so clear that your dad has lead a life full of fun and love. He and your mom look so happy! And I LOVE that you included that hillbilly pic!

Katie–
I am not a photographer, I mean that literally. I have an 18 month old granddaughter and the only pictures I have taken of her have been on my phone. But let me tell ya sister, I know some beautiful shots when I see them. You are extremely gifted…carry on the good work. As for your Dad, what beautiful words. I lost my own father 10 months ago, and it hurt, as well as warmed, my heart to read what you wrote to him. Again, carry on the good work.

This is one of my favorite posts of yours. I lost my dad when I was 4 y.o. and reading this brought tears to my eye. When I got married 6 months ago my brother-in-law walked me down the aisle and shared during the toasts what I imagine my dad would have said. Those pictures of Will are priceless. Thank you for the heartfeltness but also the humor 🙂

2. your befores and afters totally make up for your in-between stage. but i still really enjoyed those photos 🙂 seems kids these days skip that stage. im going to make sure mine dont. middle stages humble those who need humbling. now im rambling.

Such an awesome video! Don’t know you all, but I love your dad! Lol!
Totally made me tear up – I think any time I see a dad looking so happy with his kids it just pulls at my heart strings. Happy birthday to your dad!

I found your blog & watched your tribute to your Dad..it was awesome & I had tears streaming down my face even though I don’t even know you. I could just feel the love. Thanks so much for sharing. Tammie